Aftermath
by TheKanon
Summary: A Batarian soldier is left to pick up the pieces of what he's lost. SLASH, male human/male batarian pairing. Rated for strong language and sexual content. Sequel to my story "Nothing Gold Can Stay."


**A/N:** **Mass Effect belongs to Bioware. All OC's are of my own creation.**

_New York, Earth, 2185 CE_

The War had been over for one month.

Dahrek found himself sitting on a remote beach on the southern shore of what the humans called Long Island. As a Batarian, he never expected to set foot on Earth, but the final push against the Reapers had led to a climactic battle on and above the human planet. The damage and loss of life were staggering, but, in a place such as this, far away from any urban center, Dahrek could see almost no signs that the Reapers had ever been there. It was peaceful, sitting on the sand and listening to the sound of the waves breaking against the shore.

Peace. It wasn't a term that Dahrek was accustomed to. His life was one steeped in violence, from a brutal childhood in the slums of Kar'shan, to his time as a slaver, to his stint in the Blue Suns. Then the Reapers came, and Dahrek found himself fighting on the front lines of the most brutal conflict the galaxy had ever faced.

But the Reapers were not invincible, and by some miracle, they were defeated. It was Shepard who destroyed the Reapers, they all said. Shepard, who made the ultimate sacrifice to activate the Crucible that destroyed the monstrosities once and for all and ushered in a new era of galactic peace. The whole galaxy was talking about Shepard, about his heroism, his unwavering character in the face of such an unimaginable evil. But what about the millions of brave souls who made that same sacrifice, who displayed the same courage? Who never failed to stop fighting in the face of the same monstrous enemy? No one was talking about them.

No one was talking about Michael.

"That fucking idiot_._"Dahrek said angrily to himself, picking up a handful of coarse sand and throwing it violently at the water. "He didn't have to fucking die. Why the hell didn't he let me stay with him?"

_Because he loved you, _the voice of Dahrek's consciousness replied.

"And I loved him too..." Dahrek said to himself quietly, voice breaking.

A couple of humans further down the beach that were eyeing him warily caught his eye.

"Hmph," Dahrek snorted. Apparently even petty racism managed to survive the War. Not that Dahrek cared. He never thought much of humans anyway, until he met Michael.

He and the human were both assigned to the same squad in the newly formed N7 Spec Ops on the S.S.V. _Hokkaido_, much to Dahrek's initial chagrin. An N7 marine skilled with powerful biotics and deadly with a heavy pistol, Michael had earned the batarian's grudging respect after matching him blow for blow during a training session. They sparred together frequently after that between missions, never saying much to each other, until Michael broke the silence after a particularly strenuous match.

_"You know, I never thought I'd become best buddies with a batarian," Michael panted as lay on his back after a particularly nasty takedown by Dahrek. _

_ "Heh," the batarian grunted, offering the human a hand and helping him to his feet. "We've barely said one word to each other, and now we're 'best buddies?'"_

_ "Well, yeah. I mean, we watch each other's backs during missions, and afterwards we beat the shit out of each other. Nothing says true friendship like that." Michael beamed and winked. Dahrek chuckled as the two men walked over to a pile of weapons crates and sat down. _

_ "You know kid, you're all right. For a human that is," Dahrek said, wiping the sweat off his brow. _

_ Michael laughed. "Oh really? What happened to the classic 'humans are all racist' mantra?"_

_ "Eh, I never cared for all of that racism shit. It's pretty pointless. If the Hegemony put half as much energy into fixing up their own corrupt society as they did hating humans, Kar'shan wouldn't be the shithole that it is. Er, was," Dahrek corrected, sobering up a bit. "Uh...what about you?" Dahrek asked somewhat awkwardly, uncomfortable at the sympathetic look Michael was giving him. "Why are you so chummy with a batarian, eh? Last I heard, the hatred was mutual."_

_ "You know, I'm not really sure. I've always been a little different, what with my biotics and all, and my open mind about... certain things," Michael blushed, trailing off awkwardly, much to the confusion of the Dahrek. "Anyway," the human continued, "I guess I've just learned to not judge anybody before getting to know them, batarian or no."_

_ "Well, don't go putting me in your good books just yet," Dahrek said. "I'm no saint. I've been all around the Terminus system for most of my life, and I've done shit that I'm... not particularly proud of." Now it was Dahrek's turn to blush, and the floor suddenly seemed rather interesting to him. _

_ "Hey," Michael interjected, laying a hand on Dahrek's shoulder, much to the batarian's surprise. "Whatever any of us were before the Reapers came doesn't matter now. The past is the past. What matters is that you're here now, willing to risk everything to push those bastards back and give the galaxy a little more time to live. That makes you alright in my book." Michael stood. "I'm gonna go hit the showers and get some rest before our next op. Nice talking to you, Dahrek." Clapping the batarian's shoulder, Michael turned his back to Dahrek, pulling his sweaty t-shirt off as he walked to the elevator. Dahrek stared at the human's retreating muscular back with a feeling he couldn't quite place fluttering in his stomach. _

An Asari Justicar, Shiala, and a female Turian tech expert, Xaleryn, made up the other half of Dahrek and Michael's squad. Their next op went off without a hitch, as did the majority of their missions that followed. Between Michael and Shiala's biotic prowess, Xaleryn's tech expertise, Dahrek's demolition skills, and everyone's tactical knowledge, the mixed-species team proved a formidable force against the Reapers they encountered. While there was good camaraderie between all of them, Shiala preferred to spend her downtime alone in meditation, while Xaleryn tended to stick with the other Turians on board. Michael and Dahrek, however, spent most of their time together, sparring, playing cards, or just talking about their past lives and experiences. Michael told the batarian of his hometown, New York City; about his mother, how she nearly died of Eezo exposure while she was pregnant after a cargo ship crashed into the Hudson River, and how he had to grow up and cope with the emergence of his biotic powers. Dahrek told Michael about his hard childhood in the slums of Kar'shan's capital, losing his father when he was 15, and having to join up with a slaver ring to support his mentally unstable mother.

_"Sounds like you had it rough," Michael had said as they sat alone in the ship's mess hall during shore leave. "I'm sorry. My family was pretty well off, so I was fortunate. I can't imagine what it was like to live like that."_

_ "Eh, that was just how life was," Dahrek dismissed. "At least I didn't develop freaky mind powers." _

_ That earned a hearty laugh from Michael. "Yep, freaky sounds about right. I used to not be able to control my biotics at all when they first manifested. I remember this one time at an outdoor restaurant when I was 13. I sent all the food on the table flying after I raised my arm to swat at a fly. You should have seen my parents, staring at me wide eyed with their faces covered in sauce." Michael laughed again. "I don't know what I would have done if an Alliance representative hadn't sought me out at 18 and promised me the best training I could get."_

_ "So that's the reason why you joined the Alliance, then?" Dahrek asked. _

_ "Well, yeah. I also wanted to get away from my family. My parents never really looked at me the same way after they found out about the biotics. At family gatherings, everyone would whisper and point at me and give me nervous looks every time I picked up a piece of silverware. It got old after a while."_

_"I know what you mean. That's exactly how it is when I walk around the Citadel on shore leave. Although I'm not sure if it's the fact that I'm a batarian or that I walk around with these babies out in the open," Dahrek joked as he flexed his large tattooed arms, muscles bulging out of his sleeveless shirt. _

_ "Heh, yeah right..." Michael blushed and averted his gaze to the floor, taking a deliberately long drink of water. Dahrek's four eyes narrowed slightly. _

_ "You know..." Dahrek said, all seriousness now. "I've also seen you staring quite a bit." _

_ A sudden spray of water covered Dahrek's face. Across the table, Michael had turned a bright red, frozen in place in shocked horror as if a graphic hanar mating ritual had just popped up on his extranet feed._

"_I... uh... what?" Michael stuttered._

_Dahrek wiped the moisture off his face, his expression turning smug. "Oh come on, you're about as subtle as an Elcor in an elevator. I've seen the way you've been looking at me after we spar. And besides," Dahrek leaned suddenly across the table, his face inches from the human's. Michael flinched. "It's not as if I haven't been doing the same thing." With that, the batarian's lips pressed against the human's for a fleeting second before pulling back. _

_The look on Michael's face was priceless, Dahrek had to admit. He leaned back into his chair with a smirk, arms folding across his broad chest. _

"_I... you... what... you're GAY?" Michael blurted out._

"_If that's what you humans call being attracted to males, then yes." Dahrek said matter-of-factly, smirking. _

"_I... what... how?" Michael asked, dumfounded, still not believing he heard right. _

"_How what?" Dahrek asked, chuckling._

"_How is it a big, tough, manly, badass batarian merc like yourself not interested in the fairer sex?"_

_Dahrek chuckled again. "Eh, I've just always felt that way. Women are too complicated and bitchy. And their asses are too frail. I prefer a much more muscular, built one..." Dahrek winked and Michael's blush turned an even more deeper shade of red. "Besides," Dahrek continued, "I could ask the same about you. Young, well-built, N7 marine. A real lady-killer, eh?" Dahrek teased. _

_Michael chuckled and coughed awkwardly. "My biotics aren't the only thing that makes me different, I guess. Just another thing that I had to come to terms with." Michael's expression turned serious. "It was hard growing up, knowing I was that out of place with normal society. I actually thought that when I joined the Alliance, made N7, that people would finally stop looking at me like a fucked up science experiment. But most of the military respect and professionalism turned out to be a facade. I could still see the uneasiness in people's faces, hear the whispers and rumors around the base I was stationed at. Even after all that I accomplished, I was still seen as some freak of nature," Michael sighed. "Over time I just forced myself to not let it bother me. Then the Reapers came, and I met you._

"_I mean, at I was hesitant to work with a batarian after all the Elysium and Skyllian Blitz bullshit that had happened. But you were different. You always treated me with respect. Like an equal. Even despite my being human and my... what did you call them? 'Freaky mind powers?'" Michael winked at Dahrek, earning another chuckle from the batarian. "You were the first person in my whole life to treat me as an individual instead of a freak or a tool to be used. How could I not catch feelings for you? And of course, having a fucking amazing body helped to..." Michael trailed off, blushing. But the beaming smile that the human gave Dahrek made the batarian's stomach giddy with butterflies. _

"_I'm sorry." Michael frowned hesitantly under the batarian's intense four-eyed gaze. "I know this is really forward of me... I'm not really good at this kind of thing and totally understand if you don't feel the sa- mphrg!" Michael's babbling was cut off as Dahrek crushed his lips against the human's, kissing him deeply as he leaned over the table. Michael moaned as he felt the batarian's rough lips against his, his alien tongue brushing against his own. They came up for air after what seemed like hours, both panting heavily._

"_Does that answer all your questions then?" Dahrek asked, chuckling breathlessly._

"_I mean, I guess so..." Michael smirked mischievously. "But I'm not totally convinced." Michael snaked his hand under the table and grabbed Dahrek's bulging crotch, eliciting an earnest groan from the batarian. _

"_Watch it, human..." he growled, panting even harder. "You keep that up and you're gonna be in trouble." Dahrek moaned again as Michael continued to squeeze and rub him through his fatigues. _

"_I'm counting on it." Michael winked as he suddenly stood up. "Come on Dahrek... I think I'm up for a little sparring match before the crew gets back..."_

Their "spar" lasted quite a long time, Dahrek mused with a smile. Between all the kissing and groping and misplacing of mess hall furniture during said kissing and groping, they had somehow managed to make it to the shower, where they took turns fucking each other until they collapsed in a tangle of limbs under the warm water, spent and exhausted but utterly content.

_"Fuck..." Michael panted. "That was fucking incredible."_

_Dahrek planted a wet kiss on Michael's lips. "I know I am," he deadpanned, bearing his sharp teeth in a wide grin. _

_ "Psh. Don't flatter yourself, four-eyes," Michael said without any heat, smiling mischievously at the batarian. "I wasn't the only one moaning like a little bitch while I was getting my ass pounded."_

_ "Heh. Touché," Dahrek chuckled, winking. They sat together under the warm water for a long time, simply holding each other, until Michael broke the silence. _

_ "Do you think we'll make it?"_

_ It was said so quietly that Dahrek almost didn't hear it under the gentle spray of the water. _

_ "What?"_

_ Michael sat up, staring at the water swirling around the drain. "I mean, do you think we'll make it, Dahrek? Before I escaped the Rio base in Brazil, I saw those huge fucking Reaper ships come down and destroy half of the city in the blink of an eye. All those people... my parents... I..." Michael trailed off, voice breaking. "How do we beat something so powerful? How could we possibly hope that we're going to make it out of this alive? How can-"_

_ "Michael." Dahrek's stern voice interrupted. "Look at me." Michael met Dahrek's gaze, tears mingling with the water on his face._

_ "We'll make it," Dahrek said, pulling the smaller man into a tight embrace. "We'll make it."_

"We'll make it."

The sound of his own voice snapped Dahrek out of his reverie, momentarily confusing him. He was no longer in the shower, wrapped in the warm embrace of his lover. Instead he was still sitting on that fucking beach. Michael was still fucking dead.

Michael was dead.

"You fucker..." Dahrek started to tremble. He could feel a great pressure in his chest, like a dam was about to burst. His hands were clenched tightly, nails drawing blood. "You fucker... you FUCKER!" Dahrek yelled, standing abruptly. "Why didn't you make it?! Why? WHY DIDN'T YOU MAKE IT?!" The batarian's anguished scream tore through the night air and echoed around the cove. "Fuck," Dahrek sobbed. Feeling drained of all his energy, he collapsed in the sand, tears intermingling with the coarse bits of rock. He lay there for what seemed like hours, crying until his eyes could produce no more tears. "Fuck... fuck... Michael..." Dahrek gasped quietly, sucking in deep breaths of air. "Michael... I'm sorry..."

"Sir?"

The unfamiliar voice startled Dahrek. Wiping tears out of his eyes, he looked up to see the human couple that had he had seen walking further down the beach before.

"Sir... um, are you ok?" the human woman took a hesitant step towards him, concern evident on her face, although wary of the batarian's emotional state.

Dahrek blinked in surprised confusion. "I, uh..." he sat up slowly, brushing off clumps of sand from his shirt and pants. "I... yeah..." Dahrek concluded awkwardly, not sure of the humans' intentions. The man took a step forward and shyly offered the batarian a hand, pulling him to his feet.

"We saw you sitting here from further down the beach... you looked pretty distraught, and then we saw you scream and collapse, so... uh... we just wanted to make sure you were alright," The man said awkwardly. "I'm Jackson. This is my sister, Kate," he continued, laying a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Dahrek," the batarian grunted, averting his eyes from the pair. "I was... uh, just thinking about... things," Dahrek finished lamely, a blush creeping into his face.

"That's an N7 logo on your shirt. You fought in the War," Kate said. It wasn't a question.

Dahrek looked up to meet Kate's gaze, which had turned from wary to sympathetic in an instant.

"Yeah, I did. Why else would I be on Earth anyway?" Dahrek said gruffly, averting his gaze once again. The two humans weren't phased by his brusqueness, however.

"We did too," Jackson said with an understanding look in his eyes. "My sister here was a Marine. I served as a weapons engineer at the Alliance base in Rio de Janeiro."

That got Dahrek's attention. "Yeah? I know of it," the batarian said, feeling a slight uncomfortableness in his chest.

"You know Rio? I'm surprised. It's not one of the more well-known human cities that outsiders would normally hear about." Jackson said, raising an eyebrow in slight surprise.

"I had a human... friend who was stationed there before we fought together. He..." Dahrek trailed off, voice breaking. "He didn't make it." Tears threatened to spill out of Dahrek's eyes once more, and although it embarrassed him to be crying in front of strangers, he couldn't help it.

The two siblings shared a grim look with each other. Katie stepped forward and gently placed a hand on the batarian's shoulder, who flinched slightly at the contact.

"He was more than a friend to you, wasn't he?" Kate asked softly, a knowing look in her eyes. Dahrek simply nodded, averting his gaze once more as a single tear rolled down his cheek. "I know how you feel. We both do," Kate continued. "My husband was killed in combat. He was a pilot. Jack lost his wife and kids..." her voice broke momentarily and Jackson lowered his head, jaw clenching in emotion.

"I'm sorry," Dahrek said sincerely, his voice low. Kate nodded. "We're just grateful to have both found each other after it was all over," she said.

"At least you too have each other," Dahrek said. "My friend... Michael, he was all I had. I... I don't know how I'm going to get by now. I have nobody," Dahrek sighed, feeling a wave of melancholy wash over him as he looked out at the ocean under the evening sky.

"No Dahrek. You're wrong," Jackson said in a stern voice, stepping towards the batarian. "Before the war, you could have said that. Everyone in the galaxy was divided and in it for themselves. You could just live your life, only caring about the people you chose to care about, and not give a rat's ass about anyone else. But then the Reapers came, and they forced us to rely on each other. W came together as one force to drive those bastards out and save ourselves from extinction. Every one of us was the same- human, batarian, turian, it didn't matter. We were all bound together from our pain, our loss, our despair, and our hope. And we still are." Jackson placed a hand on the batarian's shoulder. "Nobody is alone in this galaxy, Dahrek. Not anymore. There's not a single being out there who isn't connected to you in some way through all of this. Ourselves included." Jackson smiled, gesturing to himself and his sister.

"I... thank you," Dahrek said quietly, unsure of what to say. Jackson patted him on the back reassuringly.

"It the truth," Kate added. "I know it doesn't take away the pain of your loss. I don't know if anything ever will. I miss my husband so much. But both he and Michael died so that we could live. I strongly believe that," Kate said firmly. "And if we just give in to despair, and throw in the towel, then what have we done to honor their sacrifice?"

Her words sank in, and they stood quietly for a moment, listening to the soft lapping of the waves against the shore.

"You're right," Dahrek said slowly, folding his arms across his chest. "All this time... I've just been so angry. I thought he was so selfish, to just throw away his life and leave me behind." He squatted down and picked up some sand, absently running through his fingers. "But I guess _I'm _the selfish one. Here I am, living and breathing, while he's.. heh." Dahrek threw the sand to the ground and let out a humorless, frustrated laugh. "I just miss him so much. I loved him," Dahrek said, voice going quiet again.

"And from the sound of it, he loved you too." Jackson said, smiling warmly. "We have a cabin here around the cove that our family used as a summer home. We've been living in it for the time being until we can return to the City. Why don't you come stay with us for a while?"

"I... I don't want to intrude," Dahrek said awkwardly, rising to his feet.

"It's fine," Kate said with a smile. "We've salvaged plenty of rations, and I'm sure there's an extra mattress somewhere. We can talk more there, if you'd like."

"I... yeah. Sure. I'd like that." Dahrek said, smiling slightly. Dahrek looked out at the ocean once more as he followed the humans down the beach. _You may not have made it, Michael, but I did, because of you, _he thought. _And I promise I won't let your death be in vain. I promise. I love you. _

Above them, a single star shone through the twilight.

**A/N**: **Thanks for reading! Please review to leave comments or constructive criticism! :)**


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